On November 16, 1961, our cozy coastal village of 3000 folks took a Mercury rocketship into the future when the Vulcan Square Shopping Center opened between D and E Streets above Vulcan Avenue. With Kennedy-era bravado, the Coast Dispatch reported that “Area residents are shaking their heads in wonder to see what was a tree shaded hillside in Encinitas transformed into a large modern shopping center; concrete evidence that faith can move mountains and that someone has shown tremendous faith in the future of this district.”
Family shopping excursions to Oceanside and Escondido became far less frequent as locals were seduced by the nearby conveniences of a supermarket with coffee shop, five-and-dime store, beauty and barber shops, pharmacy, and more. Over the following decades as Encinitas continued to sprout, Vulcan Square was gradually overwhelmed by newer, more attractive shopping alternatives. When the City of Encinitas incorporated in 1986, the by-then-dilapidated center was converted into our present-day City Hall.
